On Matt Campbell’s comments about David Montgomery and the O line:
Well I think you’re going to continue to see our offensive line develop. To be honest, I think Coach Campbell deflected the question because we know what David Montgomery is. And we know what he’s been able to do with not enough depth at offensive line. Not good enough movement up front. And we’ve seen what that guy’s been able to do. Now, we’ve got to focus our attention on the offensive line and if we really want to get the running game to where it can be, to help David out, it puts all the onus on us up front.
On what’s needed for the line to develop as it has to:
Well I think we’re at a point now where our guys are stronger. They do look the part. But right now we’re trying to create that mentality. We’re trying to create the run-first mentality. And I think that’s the biggest thing. The way we drill it now, the way we put the priority on the run game. Those guys understand that the run does come first and we need to better for our offense to be better.
On where the growth is coming for the O line:
Well I think you see growth in our depth. We’ve got a lot of guys that are able to play now. I feel very confident in saying we probably have eight guys right now that we could put in and they would be efficient and be able to play for us. Going forward, where can we continue to grow? I think understanding our scheme, inside and out. Understanding what the defense is trying to do to us and our ability up front to make the adjustments and take advantage of what they’re showing us.
On how big the strides have been:
I mean, they’ve been ginormous. We played three walk-ons our first year here. And we played a redshirt freshman and a JUCO transfer that had never played. So if you look at where we’re at today you could say that in terms of development, we did exactly what we said we were going to do. We were going to bring new guys in, we were going to develop them and get them ready to play, and the guys that were already here, we’ve developed them even further. Those are the same guys that are playing at a really high rate for us right now.
On how big the step up is for Iowa State’s junior lineman group:
Well for them, they’ve played a lot of football. So their growth has to come mentally in my opinion. Physically they’re doing what we’re asking them to do. They’re able to make the blocks that we’re asking them. Now it’s that mental side of the game. When you talk about growth with the young guys, the redshirt freshmen to the redshirt sophomore year, is the biggest year. Those guys get redshirted that are lifting more, that aren’t practicing as much, that aren’t doing the game plan stuff. You can really focus on fundamentals with them and really put the priority in the weight room.
On Julian Good-Jones importance to the offensive line:
Well I think he’s been a huge part of what we’ve been able to do so far. Julian moved in from tackle last year to play center, which in our offense, is a really important position. We put a lot on that guy. We ask him to make a lot of calls. And when he sees something wrong, he has to make us right. He had the mental capacity to move in and do that and the athletic ability, too. But he’s been huge in anchoring that offensive line down last year and I think going forward, he’s really going to help with those young guys; bringing guys along. The beautiful thing about him is you can play him at tackle, you can play him at guard, or center. So when you talk about a dynamic guy that can swing to all three positions, it’s invaluable.
On Bryce Meeker’s health and development:
Midway through last year when we got to TCU, he was playing his best football. He was consistently getting better every week. But going forward, that’s where he has to continue to grow. He needs to grow into more of a leadership role. More development in the playbook. All those things that you expect and older guy to do, that’s where he’s got to turn the curve. Now he’s practicing really hard right now and really well and we couldn’t be more happy where he’s at. But it terms of him to take the next step, really anchoring down that right side of the offensive line.
On Robert Hudson and Jacob Bolton fitting into the mix:
That’s why we’re mixing and matching right now. We want to find out. We say that we have a left guard position open but in my opinion we have five spots open. And I’m challenging these guys to fight for those jobs and to challenge each other within the room. Now is there a clear-cut two? No. Is there a clear-cut top seven? Not in my mind. That’s why we’ve had the ability, we swung Julian to left guard today and Bolton’s taking reps with the ones. Things like that we’re going to continue to mix and match so that those guys are comfortable to plug in at any point.
On what has Hudson and Bolton in the discussion as redshirt freshmen:
They had a lot of natural ability. They were pretty far along when they got here. Their size certainly helped to negate anything that they were missing in terms of the playbook. But now that’s where they have to pick it up. They’ve done a good job this off-season but they’ve just got to get in the playbook and be lights out there.
On the benefits of having an experience base now:
It’s really nice. You go back to square one every spring and you focus on fundamentals and you focus on detail. And it’s easy for the older guys to hop in day one and make adjustments. The nice thing about it is we’re playing Colin Newell at left guard, we put Will Windham swinging in there, too. And Julian today. And when you have four guys that have played significant reps and have seen live bullets coming at ‘em, it doesn’t matter who’s in there. They’re doing a good job of communicating what’s going on.
On options at center besides Good-Jones:
Colin Newell played center all last year. Obviously Will Windham was our back-up center last year and came in games late to get us out of some stuff. Those guys off the top of my head. Collin Olson is a new guy that moved over from the defensive line are we’re going to put a ball in his hand and see what he can do, too.
On where Oge Udeogu fits into the mix:
He’s still coming back from that injury. With him it’s kind of a day-to-day thing and we want him to have close to full strength in that tricep before we put him back out on the field. So he’s got to continue to strengthen that thing; we’ve got to get that tricep right first. And then he’s going to be thrown in the mix and get a shot.
On early enrollee Trevor Downing so far this spring:
He’s probably the most impressive one so far for his current situation. You talk about a guy that graduated early; should still be a high school senior. He’s been the most impressive for being a young guy, being able to come in and handle the playbook on day one and two. To be able to come off the football and drive people vertically, I mean he’s been more than what we could ask for.
On how enhanced athletic ability helps the linemen:
We do try to get some perimeter runs going and our guys’ ability to move on the perimeter, to set up the screen game, to really operate in space, it gives us an advantage. So not only do we need to move the line vertically, but when they do start bringing pressure, when they do start bringing the defensive line vertically, we have to be able to hit them east and west. So being very versatile really fits into our offense for as much as we do.
On what 270-pound Dylan Soehner brings to the line as a tight end:
The nice thing for Dylan is his size already and he’s a guy that could put weight on if he needed to. But I think we’re going to keep him at tight end and give him the opportunity to lead block for us and catch the ball. He’s a guy, he’s very athletic for his size. Can be out on the perimeter, split out, and it’s not, it doesn’t worry you. Now if he can’t get it done, I’ll be more than welcome to open the O line room to him and we’ll plug him in and see what he can do.
Well I think you’re going to continue to see our offensive line develop. To be honest, I think Coach Campbell deflected the question because we know what David Montgomery is. And we know what he’s been able to do with not enough depth at offensive line. Not good enough movement up front. And we’ve seen what that guy’s been able to do. Now, we’ve got to focus our attention on the offensive line and if we really want to get the running game to where it can be, to help David out, it puts all the onus on us up front.
On what’s needed for the line to develop as it has to:
Well I think we’re at a point now where our guys are stronger. They do look the part. But right now we’re trying to create that mentality. We’re trying to create the run-first mentality. And I think that’s the biggest thing. The way we drill it now, the way we put the priority on the run game. Those guys understand that the run does come first and we need to better for our offense to be better.
On where the growth is coming for the O line:
Well I think you see growth in our depth. We’ve got a lot of guys that are able to play now. I feel very confident in saying we probably have eight guys right now that we could put in and they would be efficient and be able to play for us. Going forward, where can we continue to grow? I think understanding our scheme, inside and out. Understanding what the defense is trying to do to us and our ability up front to make the adjustments and take advantage of what they’re showing us.
On how big the strides have been:
I mean, they’ve been ginormous. We played three walk-ons our first year here. And we played a redshirt freshman and a JUCO transfer that had never played. So if you look at where we’re at today you could say that in terms of development, we did exactly what we said we were going to do. We were going to bring new guys in, we were going to develop them and get them ready to play, and the guys that were already here, we’ve developed them even further. Those are the same guys that are playing at a really high rate for us right now.
On how big the step up is for Iowa State’s junior lineman group:
Well for them, they’ve played a lot of football. So their growth has to come mentally in my opinion. Physically they’re doing what we’re asking them to do. They’re able to make the blocks that we’re asking them. Now it’s that mental side of the game. When you talk about growth with the young guys, the redshirt freshmen to the redshirt sophomore year, is the biggest year. Those guys get redshirted that are lifting more, that aren’t practicing as much, that aren’t doing the game plan stuff. You can really focus on fundamentals with them and really put the priority in the weight room.
On Julian Good-Jones importance to the offensive line:
Well I think he’s been a huge part of what we’ve been able to do so far. Julian moved in from tackle last year to play center, which in our offense, is a really important position. We put a lot on that guy. We ask him to make a lot of calls. And when he sees something wrong, he has to make us right. He had the mental capacity to move in and do that and the athletic ability, too. But he’s been huge in anchoring that offensive line down last year and I think going forward, he’s really going to help with those young guys; bringing guys along. The beautiful thing about him is you can play him at tackle, you can play him at guard, or center. So when you talk about a dynamic guy that can swing to all three positions, it’s invaluable.
On Bryce Meeker’s health and development:
Midway through last year when we got to TCU, he was playing his best football. He was consistently getting better every week. But going forward, that’s where he has to continue to grow. He needs to grow into more of a leadership role. More development in the playbook. All those things that you expect and older guy to do, that’s where he’s got to turn the curve. Now he’s practicing really hard right now and really well and we couldn’t be more happy where he’s at. But it terms of him to take the next step, really anchoring down that right side of the offensive line.
On Robert Hudson and Jacob Bolton fitting into the mix:
That’s why we’re mixing and matching right now. We want to find out. We say that we have a left guard position open but in my opinion we have five spots open. And I’m challenging these guys to fight for those jobs and to challenge each other within the room. Now is there a clear-cut two? No. Is there a clear-cut top seven? Not in my mind. That’s why we’ve had the ability, we swung Julian to left guard today and Bolton’s taking reps with the ones. Things like that we’re going to continue to mix and match so that those guys are comfortable to plug in at any point.
On what has Hudson and Bolton in the discussion as redshirt freshmen:
They had a lot of natural ability. They were pretty far along when they got here. Their size certainly helped to negate anything that they were missing in terms of the playbook. But now that’s where they have to pick it up. They’ve done a good job this off-season but they’ve just got to get in the playbook and be lights out there.
On the benefits of having an experience base now:
It’s really nice. You go back to square one every spring and you focus on fundamentals and you focus on detail. And it’s easy for the older guys to hop in day one and make adjustments. The nice thing about it is we’re playing Colin Newell at left guard, we put Will Windham swinging in there, too. And Julian today. And when you have four guys that have played significant reps and have seen live bullets coming at ‘em, it doesn’t matter who’s in there. They’re doing a good job of communicating what’s going on.
On options at center besides Good-Jones:
Colin Newell played center all last year. Obviously Will Windham was our back-up center last year and came in games late to get us out of some stuff. Those guys off the top of my head. Collin Olson is a new guy that moved over from the defensive line are we’re going to put a ball in his hand and see what he can do, too.
On where Oge Udeogu fits into the mix:
He’s still coming back from that injury. With him it’s kind of a day-to-day thing and we want him to have close to full strength in that tricep before we put him back out on the field. So he’s got to continue to strengthen that thing; we’ve got to get that tricep right first. And then he’s going to be thrown in the mix and get a shot.
On early enrollee Trevor Downing so far this spring:
He’s probably the most impressive one so far for his current situation. You talk about a guy that graduated early; should still be a high school senior. He’s been the most impressive for being a young guy, being able to come in and handle the playbook on day one and two. To be able to come off the football and drive people vertically, I mean he’s been more than what we could ask for.
On how enhanced athletic ability helps the linemen:
We do try to get some perimeter runs going and our guys’ ability to move on the perimeter, to set up the screen game, to really operate in space, it gives us an advantage. So not only do we need to move the line vertically, but when they do start bringing pressure, when they do start bringing the defensive line vertically, we have to be able to hit them east and west. So being very versatile really fits into our offense for as much as we do.
On what 270-pound Dylan Soehner brings to the line as a tight end:
The nice thing for Dylan is his size already and he’s a guy that could put weight on if he needed to. But I think we’re going to keep him at tight end and give him the opportunity to lead block for us and catch the ball. He’s a guy, he’s very athletic for his size. Can be out on the perimeter, split out, and it’s not, it doesn’t worry you. Now if he can’t get it done, I’ll be more than welcome to open the O line room to him and we’ll plug him in and see what he can do.
